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Sao Tome latest target in China and Taiwan's fight for allies

The small African nation in the Atlantic Ocean has embraced Beijing after suffering a series of economic setbacks. Taiwan, a former Sao Tome ally, has accused China of practicing "dollar diplomacy."

China was quick to promise its full support for the small but investment-ripe island nation of Sao Tome and Principe on Monday, just one week after it cut ties with Taiwan. Sao Tome has denied reports the decision came after Taipei rejected its plea for a loan.

Taiwan immediately accused Beijing of engaging in "dollar diplomacy," and taking advantage of the idyllic African nation's financial woes. Although its economy is largely based on cocoa exports, its location at the heart of the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea have led to speculation it could become a hub of oil and gas production.

"China is willing to support Sao Tome's quest for socio-economic development and efforts to improve livelihoods and well-being to the best of its ability," said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after a meeting with his Sao Tomean counterpart Urbino Botelho.

Botelho partially apologized for his government having established relations with Taiwan in 1997.

"We have to recognize that China plays an increasingly important role in the world, especially as a partner to promote development and its contributions protecting the interests of developing nations," adding that "Sao Tome is a small, island nation, with very friendly people. It is tranquil. It has very good conditions for developing trade and business and cooperating with Chinese companies."

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

Animosity has lasted nearly seven decades

China and Taiwan split in 1949 following the rise of Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. China's nationalist President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan - which was then a backwater island.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

Move to Taiwan 'only temporary'

In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek established a "provisional" Republic of China capital in Taipei. Post-war economic conditions caused severe inflation which left the island's tiny population impoverished for many years.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

Taiwan prospers without the motherland

Over the past six decades, Taiwan has experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth, becoming known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers."

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

Rise of China

In the past 30 years, China has brushed off Communism in all but name, rising to become the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory. But Taiwan maintains it is a sovereign state and a democracy.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

US arms sales

In 2011, Taiwan upgraded its F-16 fighter fleet at a cost of $.5.3 billion (4.9 billion euros). China denounced the sale of arms from the US, warning at the time that it would damage Sino-American military and security ties.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

South China Sea diputes

Taiwan and China are currently locked in territorial disputes over the South China Sea. China's claims over most of area, along with its massive land reclamation projects in the Spratly islands, have annoyed much of the rest of Asia.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

'We are one family'

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the relations between Beijing and Taipei, saying that "we are brothers...still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken." In response, Ma called on China to respect Taiwan's democracy.

China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war

Protesters not convinced by China's overtures

In the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, about 500 people took to the streets to protest against the meeting between the two leaders. Many are skeptical as to whether ties with China will allow the territory's democracy to be maintained.

Author: Nik Martin

Taiwan losing ground

The developments in Sao Tome were the latest in a long history of Beijing and Taiwan competing over allies. Taipei sees itself as the legitimate government of China that was forced to flee the advent of communism, while Beijing regards Taiwan as nothing more than a breakaway state that rightly belongs to mainland China. Support for Taiwan's claim has waxed and waned, falling from a high of support in the mid 1990s to having just a handful of formal allies today, most of them small developing nations in Latin America and the Pacific Ocean.

Despite decades of crusading against Communism, even the United States adopted a "one China" policy recognizing the legitimacy of the Beijing government in 1979. This ran largely unquestioned until President-elect Donald Trump spokes with Taiwan Preset Tsai Ing-wen last month. He then expressed his skepticism at a policy that allows the US to sell weapons to Taiwan but not affirm the validity of its government.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Two nuclear tests in less than a year

On January 6, North Korean authorities said they had conducted a hydrogen bomb test, but it later turned out to be a "regular" nuclear test. In February, the regime in Pyongyang carried out a long-range missile test. On September 9, the isolated nation conducted another nuclear test, its most powerful so far. The North Korean belligerence forced the UN to impose more sanctions on the country.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Historic transfer of power in Myanmar

After half a century of military rule, Htin Kiaw (left) became the first elected civil president in Myanmar on March 30. Kiaw is a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Duterte's rise to power

On May 5, Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippine presidential election. After taking office in June, he urged the citizens of the Southeast Asian island nation to hunt down and kill drug dealers and addicts. In the following weeks and months, Duterte proved his determination to lead the war on drugs. The country's security forces have killed several thousand people in connection with drugs.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

A woman in charge

In Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as the island republic's first female president. The center-left politician won the presidential vote on January 16. She opposed her predecessor's policy to seek closer ties with mainland China. Her phone conversation with US president-elect Donald Trump earlier this month enraged Beijing.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Death of the Taliban commander

In May, Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a US drone attack in the region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2015, Mansour had succeeded the group's founder Mullah Omar. After his death, Mansour was succeeded by Haibatullah Akhundzada.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Court ruling on disputed islands

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected Beijing's territorial claim on parts of the South China Sea and ruled in favor of the Philippines. China, as expected, rejected the court's decision.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Canonization of Mother Teresa

On September 4, Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a Catholic saint at the Vatican. Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, Mother Teresa was of ethnic Albanian descent. She arrived in India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order. By 1946, she said God had called upon her to care for the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa's work won her a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Death of the 'eternal monarch'

Thailand's "beloved" king Bhumibol Adulyadej died on October 13 in Bangkok after a protracted illness. The monarch had reigned in Thailand since 1946. Though Bhumibol was highly revered, commentators disagree regarding his legacy as well as his influence. Crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn succeeded Bhumibol as King Rama X earlier this month.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Bloodbath in Pakistan

On October 24, armed gunmen attacked a police school in the western Pakistani city of Quetta and killed 61 cadets. The so-called "Islamic State" (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. In August, suicide bombers attacked a hospital in the same city and killed 71 people.

2016 – A tumultuous year for Asia

Political crisis in South Korea

South Korea has been in the grip of anti-government protests for the past few months. President Park Geun-Hye has been suspended from office on corruption charges. Earlier this month, the country's parliament voted to impeach Park. In early 2017, the constitutional court will decide her political fate.